Remdesivir, the medication used in COVID-19 cases, is urgently sent to hospitals across the country in Romania. The acquisition procedures allowed the authorities to offer the hospitals the first 24,000 doses starting from Tuesday, October 11.
According to the Ministry of Health, Romania is to sign an additional contract with the producer to supply 139,000 more doses in the next period. The whole quantity is to be delivered by mid-December.
Remdesivir is an anti-viral medication developed by Gilead Sciences for combating viral infections, such as Ebola. In the context of the current pandemic, Remdesivir entered clinical trials to be used for the COVID-19 infected patients. The results were quite encouraging, which made Remdesivir one of the prescribed medications in this situation.
The current pandemic evolution in Romania, with 15,000 new cases a day, requires such urgent measures. Notably, Remdesivir is to be prescribed only by doctors to patients in hospitals.
Romania is just one of the European countries that use Remdesivir for coronavirus-related infections. In October last year, the European Union negotiated a 1 billion EUR contract with Gilead Sciences for supplying the medication. At that moment, the cost of treatment for one patient was set up at 2,070 EUR.